The Twinning
by DynamicDuoFanandPhoneGuy
Summary: Marsha's Aunt Hilda is notorious for her frequently failing potions. However, one small success for her became one giant change for our beloved Dynamic Duo. Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea


Bruce didn't want Dick getting involved in such activities at ten years old. Crime fighting is a dangerous business. Nevertheless, Dick quickly learned of his guardian's secret identity and began his own training. Bruce came home one night and found his young ward in a costume fighting imaginary crooks. Bruce decided to train the eight-year-old and hoped Dick would grow bored. Over the past year and a half, Dick explored a new world of heroism. The journey began with gangs, loiterers, bank robbers, jaywalkers, some cold cases, and an occasional litterbug.

Tonight, Bruce allowed Dick to come with him. Looking out of the corner of his eye, the Caped Crusader couldn't help but smile at his young partner's enthusiasm. Dick Grayson — known to the crime-fighting world as Robin — is about to battle his first super crook. The villainess is Marsha, the Queen of Diamonds. Her pattern of crime doesn't suggest murder, torture, or anything except stealing diamonds and fighting her royal guards. Batman believed she would be the best super crook for Robin to face first. Upon arriving at the hideout and before Batman had a chance to park, Robin unbuckled his Safety Bat Belt then leaped over the door.

"Robin!" Batman scolded. "Never exit a vehicle which has not come to a complete stop. It won't stop if the driver doesn't see you."

"Sorry, Batman," Robin sighed. The Bright Knight ruffled his partner's hair as they went inside Marsha's hideout. Two guards stood on the other side of the door. The Dynamic Duo prepared for a fight. Surprisingly, neither guard made any move to attack. Instead, they guided Batman and Robin down the hallway.

"Holy hold up, shouldn't we be fighting by now?" Robin whispered as they passed more of Marsha's guards.

"Yes, this is strange. You had better stay close to me in case shes planned something diabolical," Batman instructed. Dick's eyes quickly scanned the room for any signs of danger. He noted the diamond chandelier, the guard's swords, some rope, and a few lit torches.

"It's okay, I'll handle this. Besides, Batman is here too," Robin assured. As long as he could remember, Dick wanted a brother. At four years old he nicknamed his other personality Robin and told everyone he was his twin brother. Robin always looks out for Dick, sometimes taking over his actions. These protective acts of Robin caused to Dick choose the name as his alias.

"I hope you're right," Dick replied as Robin took over. By now the duo reached the end of the hallway. Two more guards opened the doors to Marsha's quarters.

"Welcome, darlings. Please, have a seat," she insisted as the guards brought over two plush chairs.

"No, thank you: we'd rather stand," Batman declined. Marsha snapped her fingers and they were forced down into the chairs. Instantly, their limbs and chest were strapped down with diamond encrusted metal bands.

"Holy fish hooks!" Robin exclaimed, struggling against his bonds.

"What are you doing?" Batman demanded.

"Don't worry, baby bat, you won't be hurt," Marsha assured as the guards dragged Batman into another room.

"W-what are you gonna do to him?" Robin asked, trying to hide his fear. Dick immediately rushed back into control, much to Robin's irritation. This was the first time they were separated from Batman on a mission.

"Oh, nothing too severe. Luckily for you, I despise having to clean up blood. We are going to King Tut's hideout using the Tut Truck he allowed me to borrow. I agreed to give him Batman in exchange for the collection of the Wayne Diamonds," Marsha explained. "I haven't decided what to do with you, darling, so I'm afraid you're going to stay here until I get back."

Marsha pressed a button on a remote which unhooked the Boy Wonder. Robin pushed Dick aside and took off running after where Batman was taken.

"GUARDS! Capture that boy!" Marsha ordered.

"What the heck are you doing?" Dick hissed.

"I'm getting Batman out of there! We can't fight these guards on our own!" Robin explained. Unfortunately, he also couldn't outrun them. The Grand Mogul seized Robin by his cape. When the boy wonder began to struggle, a blade was gently pressed against his neck. Robin decided to let Dick takeover; he was less likely to say something to aggravate the Grand Mogul.

"Set him here," Marsha instructed, uncapping a potion bottle. She poured half of it onto the Boy Wonder and gave the rest to an idle guard.

"Tell Batman that's from Robin," Marsha explained. Dick took some of the liquid on his finger to identify it.

"Holy leftovers, was this from last week's catch of the day?" He asked.

"Some of it," Marsha laughed. "Now, darling, are you going to be a good boy and obey me, or do I have to test another potion?" Marsha inquired.

"I'll obey," Dick agreed.

"Wonderful!" Marsha rejoiced. She clapped to invite a guard.

"Take him to the Room, darling," Marsha ordered, traveling to the mobile hideout. The Grand Mogul forced Dick into a secret chamber where he was left alone. Robin regained control the moment the chamber was sealed.

"Nice going," Dick snapped.

"She was going to put us in here anyway. At least I tried something," Robin retorted. He began to examine the empty stone chamber for any weak spots. Finding none, he turned his attention to the sealed door. Robin moved to the back of the chamber. He sprinted towards the door and, at the last second, angled his feet to hit the door. It moved back about half an inch. Grinning widely, Robin set up another kick.

For the next few minutes, he worked on opening the door. Finally, he created a large enough gap to squeeze through. Robin ran through the corridor after Marsha's guards and onto a loading dock. He crept past the Grand Mogul and onto some storage shelves. Once at the top, the Boy Wonder looked for Batman. Robin couldn't see the Caped Crusader, yet assumed he was already inside the Tut Truck. The newbie crimefighter leaped from the top of the storage shelves and on top of the peculiar vehicle.

"Okay, now what?" Robin asked.

"Get inside and untie Batman!" Dick insisted. Robin waited until the guards weren't looking before sliding through the curtains enveloping theTut Truck. Sure enough, there was Batman: gagged, enveloped by chains, and without his utility belt. Luckily, there was only one large lock securing his bonds. Robin ducked down behind the throne and began to pick the lock with the Bat-Lock Pick. He stayed silent as the guards and Marsha boarded the barge. Batman was free after only a few minutes of being on the road.

"Marsha's going to hand you over to King Tut in exchange for the Wayne Diamonds that Tut is going to steal," Robin whispered, assuming his voice would be concealed by the rumble of the engine.

"Then we'd better get there first," Batman declared. "The next time this truck stops, we're going to jump out. Stay vigilant."

Just a few seconds later, the Tut Truck stopped. Batman was first to leap out and pulled Robin with him.

"Hang on tightly," he instructed as he weaved through the stopped cars. The Boy Wonder continued to hold onto his mentor even after they were safely on the sidewalk.

"You can let go now, Robin," Batman assured. The young hero said nothing but shook his head in response.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Hurts."

"What hurts, chum?"

"All of my muscles. I think it was the potion Marsha used on us," Robin whimpered as another ache pulsed through him.

"There are no such things as potions, Robin. You're probably feeling the bruises form from a fight," Batman explained.

"But Batman, there was no fight! It had to have been that weird fake potion thing!" Robin argued.

"If you just want me to carry you, that's all you had to say. Don't make up ailments next time," Batman sighed.

"I wasn't-,"

"Robin, that's enough," Batman concluded.

~SPINNING BAT SYMBOL TRANSITION~

When they arrived back at Stately Wayne Manor, the Police were arresting King Tut and his henchmen. Batman and Robin were able to sneak into the Batcave. As Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, they greeted the police officers. Dick couldn't help but notice how Bruce seemed to be moving as though he were sore. Once the officers left to arrest Marsha, the young ward confronted Bruce.

"Now do you believe she did something to us?!" Dick asked. Bruce looked up from the paper.

"Richard Grayson: potions do not exist, magic does not exist, and your pain does not exist. Stop with this nonsense and go to bed. Do not bring this up again," he scolded. Dick sighed before heading up to his room.

"Why can't he just listen to me for once?" he sighed.

"Maybe because he has a higher pain tolerance and doesn't feel the aches? Or maybe we feel sore from trying to open that door," Robin suggested.

"Either way, he thinks we were lying," Dick explained, climbing into bed.

Back downstairs, Bruce was starting to feel the strange aches Dick was complaining about. He shrugged it off and went to take a hot shower.

~SPINNING BAT SYMBOL TRANSITION~

Over the next few days, Bruce and Dick experienced more aches, tiredness, a fever, dizziness, and slightly blurry vision. Aunt Harriet blamed their symptoms on the flu and kept them both in bed. The strangest part about this flu was when Dick would get a new symptom, later, Bruce would have the same thing. The boys thought this was definite proof that they were affected by a potion. Yet, they decided not to say anything to Bruce. If he didn't believe in magic by now, he would shortly.

"Dick, are you awake?" Aunt Harriet asked, entering her nephew's room. Dick looked up at the blur which resembled his aunt in response.

"I'm going out to get you some more medicine. Alfred and I will be back in less than an hour. Will you be okay for that long?" she asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah...," he whimpered. Aunt Harriet turned to leave.

"Aunt Harriet?"

"Yes, Dick?"

"Can you please buy a flavor other than grape?" Dick asked, smiling.

"I'll see what I can find," Aunt Harriet chuckled.

Moments later, Dick felt an excruciating pain sear through him. He yelped loudly as the pain focused on his back half, as though the skin was being ripped off. The pain began with ease, yet Dick felt as though something or someone was being pressed against him. With one final pulse, the pain was over.

"Are you okay, Robin?" Dick asked.

"Yeah. You?" Robin replied.

"I think so."

"What was that?"

"I have no… YOU'RE REAL?!" Dick gasped, looking at the young boy dressed in his crime-fighting costume. Robin turned to be face to face with him.

"Holy… Holy… I don't even know what to say!" Robin exclaimed, touching Dick's face.

"We've gotta tell Bruce!" Dick realized.

"How? We can't walk without passing out… Wait a minute! We can call him on the house phone!" Robin suggested.

"Great idea! What if he doesn't believe us?" Dick replied.

"He'll believe us eventually. I'll change into pajamas; Aunt Harriet could be back sooner than we think. The last thing we need is for her to find out we were one and the same. Bruce can think of an excuse for why Batman and Robin are here," Robin explained. After he was changed, a groan of pain came from Bruce's room.

Forgetting about their need to rest, the boys ran across the hall into their mentor's room. Sure enough, both Bruce and Batman were present.

"Are you boys okay?" Batman asked.

"Yeah," they answered together.

"We owe you both an apology. We should've listened to you instead of assuming you were lying." Bruce explained.

"Boys! We're home!" Aunt Harriet called from downstairs.

"What do we tell her?" Dick asked.

"The truth," Bruce replied.

"I found a bubblegum flavored medicine that I thought you'd prefer. Just to be safe, I also bought some orange flavored… mercy alive! Batman! What on earth are you doing here?" Aunt Harriet gasped. Alfred stepped back, preparing to catch her in case she fainted.

"There is something I need to tell you, but I suggest you sit down first," Bruce instructed. Aunt Harriet did so.

"I'm not one to tarry so I'm going to tell you outright: I was Batman. The night the police came to the manor, I had just finished battling with Marsha the Queen of Diamonds and her royal guards. Her Aunt Hilda believes herself to be a witch and made a potion which Marsha tested on me. I didn't think much of it at the time. When I got home, I greeted Dick like I always do, and I guess when I gave him a hug, he received a small dose of the potion. His developing immune system wasn't used to dealing with foreign substances, which is why symptoms appeared in him faster. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry. However, the current circumstances have left me no choice," Bruce explained.

"Mercy alive… I… I don't know what to say. I've certainly noticed similarities between you and Batman, but I never assumed… I guess there isn't much to do about it except accept it and carry on the best we can. What about Dick's… split?" Aunt Harriet reacted.

"I'm Robin. Dick's old imaginary friend," Robin grinned.

"Oh, that's adorable! You two are like twins now!" Aunt Harriet gushed. "Does this mean your ailments are over?"

"I hope so," Batman sighed.

 **How wrong they were! For protagonists of a story, the worst is always yet to come.**


End file.
